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Police Officer Christopher Ryan Morton

Police Officer Christopher Morton was shot and killed when he and two other officers responded to an unknown situation as the result of a 911 call at approximately 9:20 pm.

The call taker could hear screaming in the background on the call, but the caller did not otherwise communicate and hung up before officers arrived on scene. As the officers arrived at the home in the 300 Block of West Grand River Street a male subject opened fire on them with a semi-automatic rifle. The officers returned fire and entered the home in an attempt to take the man into custody. The man continued firing, wounding all three officers.

Officer Morton remained in a bedroom for several minutes before being rescued by the other officers. He was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.

The subject then barricaded himself inside the home for several hours. A SWAT team entered the home shortly after midnight and located the subject deceased.

Officer Morton had served as both a reserve officer and full-time officer with the Clinton Police Department for three years. He had recently returned to full-time status following the line of duty death of Police Officer Gary Michael on August 6th, 2017. He was a veteran of the Army National Guard and is survived by his parents and siblings.